The Digital Hollywood Experience

The Digital Hollywood Experience

"The Conference that Defines the Future of the Industry"

Tuesday, March 7th, 2017

2:15 PM - 3:30 PM

Session A: Grand Ballroom (4th Floor)

Leveraging Content and Celebrity For Cross-Platform Success: From TV & Internet to Social Media and Virtual Reality

Brands, entertainment content, celebrity talent, new media startups and big marketers are teaming up in new ways for cross-platform success. Hear from top executives leveraging pop culture and content to connect with consumers.

Susanne Mei, General Manager, People/Entertainment Weekly Network, Time Inc.

Teal Newland, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Partner Management, Condé Nast Entertainment (CNÉ)

Gabrielle Korn, Digital Editor-in-Chief, NYLON

Alan Schanzer, Senior Vice President of Agency and Advertiser Development, Pandora

Harvey Schwartz, founding Partner, SVP of Talent, WhoSay

Tyler Hissey, VP Marketing and Social Media, MTV, VH1 and Logo

Moderator, Steven Masur, Senior Partner, MG+

Susanne Mei is the General Manager of People/Entertainment Weekly Network—Time Inc.’s first-ever Over-the-top (OTT) service. As General Manager, People/Entertainment Weekly Network (PEN), Susanne Mei spearheads the strategic oversight for Time Inc.’s free OTT streaming network, which launched in September 2016. In her management of the ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) platform, Mei oversees the daily operations for the network, including revenue and marketing. Mei joined Time Inc. in 2015 as part of the Video Distribution team, and worked across the leading content company's vast portfolio of premium brands and platforms with a focus on video distribution partnerships. Mei joined Time Inc. with more than 20 years of experience in the entertainment media business. Previously, Mei served as Vice President of Digital Distribution and Business Development at IFC Films, a division of AMC Networks. In this role, she was responsible for revenue and strategy on all transactional digital platforms, including iTunes, Xbox, Amazon and GooglePlay, among others. Additionally, she led the team that launched the SundanceNOW Doc Club subscription video on demand (SVOD) service and ran the day-to-day operations. In 2006, Mei served as Vice President of Digital Media for the Smithsonian Network during its launch. It was Mei's previous role as Director of Business Development at Showtime from 2002 to 2006 where she was an integral part of the team that executed the groundbreaking deal with The Smithsonian Institution to launch the Smithsonian Network. During her tenure at Showtime, Mei was responsible for mobile, VOD and new channel development. Mei's start in the strategic world of digital media began as a Strategy Consultant at Concrete Media in 2000. Prior, she spent several years in production at ABC News, and contributed to the development and launch of the original abcnews.com. Mei earned her BA at Tufts University and her MBA at The Stern School of Business at NYU. She lives in New York City with her husband Ron and two children.

Teal Newland is Senior Vice President, Marketing and Partner Management for Condé Nast Entertainment (CNÉ), a division of Condé Nast that develops and distributes premium digital video, television and film worth watching. Prior to joining CNÉ in 2015, Ms. Newland served on StumbleUpon’s executive team, where she led consumer and trade marketing, revenue and advertising solutions and media partnerships. Prior to StumbleUpon, she was a vice president at DigitasLBi, a full service advertising agency, working across all agency clients including American Express, Delta Airlines, Intel and Samsung in developing global content and media strategy, audience engagement initiatives and social activation platforms. Previously, Newland consulted for entertainment companies including The Walt Disney Company and spent over six years with Microsoft in a global revenue and media innovation capacity on both their U.S. and European teams. Ms. Newland has lived and worked throughout Latin America through her affiliation with the non-profit Amigos de las Americas, including Mexico, Costa Rica and Paraguay. She graduated Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Washington.

Alan Schanzer, Senior Vice President of Agency and Advertiser Development, Pandora: As the Senior Vice President of Agency and Advertiser Development, Alan leads the company’s collaborations with advertising agencies and brands, providing strategic counsel to marketers to maximize the power of Pandora, and leveraging feedback from agencies and brands to help Pandora build attractive and innovative products. Alan came to Pandora with nearly 20 years of experience in the media industry, having delivered strategic leadership, vision and insight to some of the most prominent brands worldwide.  Prior to Pandora, Schanzer served as Chief Client Officer at Undertone Networks, where he worked with leading companies to create customized, cross-screen advertising solutions.  Before joining Undertone, Alan was Managing Partner at MEC Interaction, where he worked with leading brands including AT&T, Citibank, Xerox, Campbell’s, Colgate, Paramount, Range Rover and Jaguar. Alan received his B.A. from Syracuse University and resides in New York.  Outside of work, Alan enjoys spending time with his family and friends, being on or near the water, travel, and live music.  Alan’s favorite Pandora stations are: Working Tunes (cultivated for over four years), Jam Bands, Laid Back Beach Music, and Billie Holiday.

Gabrielle Korn is the Digital Editor-in-Chief at NYLON Media, where she oversees all digital content creation across platforms. Under her editorial direction, NYLON's digital presence now reaches 100 million people with engaging social media content, videos, short and long form reporting, unique features, and original photo shoots. Thanks to a strong brand identity that appeals to the coolest women between the ages of 18 and 30, with a sweet spot at 25, NYLON is uniquely positioned to evolve in tandem with the technology that it lives on. Gabrielle joined NYLON in 2014 as Senior Editor, and moved on to become Deputy Editor before being named leader of her team. She's passionate about content that's feminist, cool, weird, thought-provoking, and loves finding the perfect balance of accessible and elevated storytelling. Prior to Nylon, she spent several years as the beauty editor at Refinery29, overseeing beauty content during a period of explosive traffic growth and working to expand the brand's concept of what beauty means to the millennial reader. Before that, she worked in queer and feminist media, holding editorial positions at Autostraddle and On The Issues Magazine. She graduated from NYU's Gallatin School Of Individualized Study with a concentration in feminist and queer theory, activism, and writing, and works to bring that critical lens with her into more mainstream media. She lives in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.

Tyler Hissey is the Vice President of Marketing and Social Media for MTV, VH1 and Logo TV. In this role, he leads the digital marketing and social teams that create, publish and support all content for MTV, VH1 and Logo’s series digital properties, including MTV’s fan-favorite scripted series “Teen Wolf,” as well as “The Challenge” and “Are You The One” franchises, among others. Hissy joined Viacom after spending nearly six years at Boston-based advertising agency Hill Holliday. During his tenure at the agency, he spent four seasons overseeing content strategy and social media for client Major League Baseball’s award-winning MLB Fan Cave marketing platform. For his work on that project, Tyler was a runner-up for The "Bright & On A Roll" Media Rising Star Award at the Maven Awards in 2012, and the platform also took home a Shorty Award for social media excellence in the sports category and a Bronze Lion in branded content and entertainment at the 2012 Cannes Lion Festival. Following his work with Major League Baseball, he spent two years supporting a range of clients, including Bank of America, Dunkin’ Donuts and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and new business projects. Prior to Hill Holliday, he was the trends editor at the startup content creation company Tauntr Media in Boston.

Harvey Schwartz is Executive Vice President of Talent at WhoSay, the leading celebrity and influencer content marketing company. At WhoSay, Schwartz oversees the company’s celebrity talent acquisition strategy and implementation, including pairing celebrity talent with brands for campaigns. WhoSay currently worked with over 2,000 of the world’s biggest celebrities and influencers. Prior to working at WhoSay, Schwartz worked in the entertainment business as VP A&R for Universal Music/Capricorn as well as managing Grammy award winning artist Peter Gabriel in North America. Schwartz is based in WhoSay’s New York office.

Steven Masur has over 22 years of experience advising emerging and established businesses on new opportunities and business challenges. He focuses his practice on corporate finance, M&A, intellectual property, entertainment, emerging businesses and strategic guidance. Steve has extensive experience in angel and venture capital finance, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and cross-border transactions in Europe and Asia. He is passionate about helping new businesses plan a path to success, and helping older businesses bridge the gap to new markets. Steve brings a unique mix of legal, business, and strategic experience to bear on client matters. He has counseled enterprise level clients including Shazam, Virgin Mobile, Liberty Media, Yamaha, Nielsen Buzzmetrics, Bob Vila and Conde Nast Publications in corporate, digital media, and new business matters. He has also helped emerging businesses in a wide variety of sectors, and is especially knowledgeable in media, entertainment, advertising, consumer products, food and technology, including mobile, games, digital music, social media, augmented and virtual reality, software and hardware. Steve has been recognized as a “Rising Star” and a “Super Lawyer” by Super Lawyers. He serves on a variety of corporate and nonprofit boards and industry associations, and lectures and writes about major issues in venture capital, emerging businesses, entertainment law, technology and corporate strategy.